The election of a controversial evangelical preacher, known for his vocal hardline views on homosexuality and racist remarks, as the chairman of the Brazilian legislature's human rights committee has earned the condemnation of religious groups and sparked protests around the country.

In a legislative protest marred by protests, congressman Marco Feliciano, a member of the Christian Social Party (PSC) was elected on 7 March, 2013 for the office of chairman of the Committee for Human Rights and Minorities (CDHM) in the Deputy Chamber [en] after a coalition of political parties scraped together the minimum number of votes necessary.

Feliciano, who is the head of the Assembléia de Deus [en] church, is an outspoken opponent of gay marriage and abortion, and currently is the subject of two Supreme Federal Court investigations – one for embezzlement, and the other for homophobic behavior, to which he responded in a message on Twitter on 31 March, 2011: “The putridity of the homosexual feelings leads to hate, crime, rejection”.

The site Carta Capital reported that during his inauguration speech, Feliciano denied that he is homophobic or racist. But the preacher has left a trail of comments behind him that ruthlessly attack homosexuality and the gay community and seem to demonize Africans.

In a speech delivered during an evangelical congress in September 2012, Feliciano referred to AIDS as the “gay cancer”.

We all know that the so-called AIDS can strike anyone, regardless of sexual preference, but science itself reveals the prevalence of infection by this disease in people who are manifestly gay, so much so that if one declares to be homosexual during the interview that preceeds the donation of blood, the act is refused on the grounds of being from a homosexual person.

In the video below, Feliciano vividly encourages his followers to stand against gay marriage:

“People only attack those who upset them. You are making a difference. God's people stand by you”, wrote a sympathizer on Twitter. “I know you will do an honorable job of the power that has been vested in you”, observed another follower. “Preacher @marcofeliciano is a good example for our generation! A man of God who has nothing to be ashamed of and deserves our respect”, added another.

However, not all of the evangelical community support the preacher. Rede Fale, which represents 39 religious groups, condemned his election and launched a petition to remove the preacher from office.

There are several historical examples of Christian people involved with human rights, characters such as the Baptist preacher Martin Luther King Jr. or the Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu are inspirational exactly because they place faith as the engine for their actions towards the promotion and the defense of the human rights.

The blog Mistura Urbana wrote about how Feliciano's actions contradict the very religion he means to represent:

Based on the excuse of freedom of religion and freedom of expression, people who should be committed to the LOVE THY NEIGHBOR principle, such as preacher and congressman Marco Feliciano and millionaire preacher Silas Malafaia prefer, choose, or opt for rousing crowds of religious people with speeches of hatred, violence, and prejudice. And, not content, position themselves as victims of a gay militancy who are filled with hatred and persecutive feelings (?!?!?!?!?!?).

Many people took to the streets after Feliciano's election to protest the move in several capital cities across Brazil. Netizens organized marches on Facebook and shared photos on the social networks. An Avaaz petition asking for the removal of Feliciano had gathered more than 442,000 signatures by 18 March, 2013.

March in São Paulo in favor of the removal of Marco Feliciano from office. Photo from Facebook Fora do Eixo.

Protests in São Paulo against the nomination of Feliciano to the Committee for Human Rights and Minorities. Photo from Facebook Fora do Eixo (CC BY-SA)

Protests in São Paulo against the nomination of Marcos Feliciano to the Committee for Human Rights on 09/03/13. (CC BY-SA) João Lima

Demonstration against the nomination of Marco Feliciano in Vitória. Photo by Beatriz Magoga de Oliveira, for Global Voices.

Protests in Fortaleza, Ceará against the nomination of the evangelical preacher Marco Feliciano as chairman of the CDHM on 09/03/13. (CC BY-SA) Fora do Eixo.

Feliciano's election as chairman of the human rights committee was made possible thanks to other political parties giving up their posts on the committee to the Social Christian Party, to which Feliciano belongs. The committee consists of 18 members and currently it has five members of the Social Christian Party and six others from the evangelical bench. The blog O Diário reported:

So as to make possible the election of the evangelical congressman, the PSC [Social Christian Party] was backed by the PMDB [Brazilian Democratic Movement Party] that gave their vacancies in the committee to PSC. In spite of having just one member in the college, today, during the election, the PSC had five deputies as members. The PMDB gave two vacancies and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, two others. The party also had the support of the PR [Party of the Republic], of the PTC [Labor Christian Party] and of a deputy from the PSB [Brazilian Socialist Party], the minister of the church, Eurico.

Jean Wyllys [en], a Socialism and Freedom Party [en] congressman and member of the committee on human rights, said in an interview in Rede Brasil Atual that Feliciano's election as committee chairman stems from political disputes and party negotiations underway in Brazil ahead of the presidential election in 2014. But Wyllys, a champion of LGBT rights, also added that “ideological disputes” related to Brazil's human rights also have to do with the direction the committee has taken.

The site Causa Operária published the final statement of Labor Party member Domingos Dutra, the outgoing committee chairman, before formally handing down the office to Feliciano on 7 March, 2013, in which he accused the party coalition of “dictatorship”:

“I withdraw now on behalf of the PT [Labor Party] and I withdraw amid a dictatorship which has been established here” (Congresso em Foco, 7/3/2013). The declaration made by the PT member does not preclude the fact that there was an agreement settled between the party leaderships in order to deliver the committee to the evangelical bench. The committee, created 20 years ago, has been chaired by the left most of the time, having been under the PT 18 times.

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is all the fault of our politicians, the election of feliciano was an agreement to ensure that the president elect Dilma again, Brazil is famous for having the most corrupt politicians and preachers more thieves in the world!